Radio One Reveals 'Biggest Ever' Free Music Event

BBC Radio 1 has announced plans to hold the BBC's largest ever free-ticketed music event as part of the London 2012 Festival.
Leona Lewis will be among the artists at the BBC Radio 1 event next year.
Taking place on 23 –24 June 2012 at Hackney Marshes, BBC Radio 1's Hackney Weekend 2012 will feature local stars Leona Lewis and Plan B among 80 international and UK acts performing on six BBC stages.
100,000 tickets will be available for the event, described by Radio 1 as "the most ambitious event in the station's 44-year history".
The majority of these tickets will be allocated to people living in Hackney, a Host Borough for the 2012 Games, and the surrounding areas.
Hackney Weekend 2012 will be part of the opening weekend of the London 2012 Festival, the UK-wide cultural celebration and finale of the Cultural Olympiad, running from 21 June - 9 September 2012.
Ruth Mackenzie, Director of the London 2012 Festival and Cultural Olympiad, said: "We're delighted that Radio 1's Hackney Weekend is part of the London 2012 Festival line-up.
"It is a perfect fit with our ambitions for the Festival to appeal to young people, to showcase world class talent and to work with our partners in Hackney."
World and European Triple Jump Champion Phillips Idowu, who was born in Hackney, is among the ambassadors Radio 1 has secured to be involved in the programme of outreach activity ahead of the event.
Ticket application details for the event will be announced in the coming months.
(BMcN/GK)